Proposed Stonington borough budget drops $46,000

Stonington - The proposed $982,582 borough budget is a $46,365 decrease when compared to the current budget.

On Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Borough Hall, the Board of Warden and Burgesses will hold a public hearing on the budget, which would maintain the tax rate at the current 1.9 mills.

The annual borough meeting, in which taxpayers vote on the budget, is scheduled for April 21 at 9 a.m. at the firehouse.

Part of the reason the tax rate is not decreasing despite the decrease in spending is that in the current budget, the borough used $47,500 from its reserve fund to help offset taxes, something that is not planned in the proposed budget.

In addition to that decrease in revenue, the borough also will lose $4,000 in property taxes that had been paid by owners of the former Garbo Lobster property, which is now owned by the nonprofit New England Science and Sailing, formerly known as the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club Sailing Foundation.

Warden Paul Burgess said Thursday that the board went through the budget line by line and made cuts based on the tracking of expenditures. Few accounts showed any increases.

The budget also calls for spending $150,000 on road repairs. The work would be done on Grand Street between Main and Northwest streets, Church Street between Main and Gold streets, and on Temple Street.

The borough puts aside money each year do to ongoing street and infrastructure improvements so taxpayers do not face a large bill in any particular year.

Burgess also said that within two years, the borough will have paid off the bond on the new firehouse and will be debt free.